Maghsoodloo, Martirosyan, Martinez, Masters of 3 0 Thursday

It was a day for "M" names in 3 0 Thursday on February 5, as GMs Parham Maghsoodloo, Haik Martirosyan, and Jose Martinez took the top spots. It was Martinez's fifth victory in the tournament, Maghsoodloo's second, and Martirosyan's first. The women's prizes all went to first-time victors, IM Polina Shuvalova, NM Liudmyla Ivanytska, and WFM Kalyani Sirin. For Shuvalova it's been an impressive week, as she recently set the record for the highest blitz rating by a woman in the history of the site, peaking as of this writing at a phenomenal 2946.

Round of applause for Polina!! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Z3tET9uXgv

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1st Tournament: Maghsoodloo First At The Finish Line

It wasn't clear until the closing moments, but Maghsoodloo earned a clear first place in the first tournament of the day with a 9.5/11 score. He recovered from a loss to GM Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov in round five by winning his next four games. The most critical came against the co-leader Martirosyan in round eight. 

That victory was essential, as Martirosyan won the rest of his games, and finished second with nine points. To win the event, Maghsoodloo needed to defeat GM Oleksandr Bortnyk, who was tied with him at 8.5 points. Bortnyk played risky chess, ran into trouble and right when he appeared to escape, a one-move blunder cost him the game.

 IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher took third place with nine points, ahead of a pack of five players with 8.5 points each.

2nd Tournament: Martirosyan Dominates

After his near miss in the first tournament, Martirosyan left no doubt in the second. He won his first nine games en route to victory by a clear point. An important stepping stone was his seventh round win against GM Denis Lazavik, who was warming up for the Speed Chess Championship Finals. White was slightly better throughout and Martirosyan eventually broke through his opponent's defenses.

Martirosyan gained revenge on Maghsoodloo in the ninth round when the Iranian GM hung his queen in a slightly worse position.

IM Renato Terry stopped Martirosyan from scoring the first 11/11 score in a 3 0 Thursday by defeating him in the 10th round. That meant that Martirosyan had to score in the final game to earn clear first place. He was up to the challenge, grinding out a win in similar style to his battle with Lazavik.

Behind Martirosyan's 10/11,  GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac took second with nine points and Martinez took third with 8.5/11.

3rd Tournament: Martinez Secures Fifth Victory

Just like Martirosyan earlier in the day, Martinez improved on a strong performance in one tournament by winning the next one. He went undefeated in the third tournament, only giving up three draws. His dominant game against one of last week's winners, GM Sina Movahed in the eighth round was a good demonstration of his form.

Even with his strong play, Martinez needed at least a draw in the final round against GM Alexander Grischuk to secure first place. Grischuk built a powerful attack, but one inaccuracy allowed Martinez to escape and another let him win the game.

GM David Paravyan overcame two losses in the first five rounds to finish with 8.5/11 and secure second place. Terry, who has won 3 0 Thursday six times, took 3rd place with eight points.